engaging youth in learning lesson plan final 2.15 -...

Engaging Youth in Learning

Facilitator Guide

Engaging Youth in Learning 2/15

2

The NCYC/NPJS Youth Care Curriculum Series is made up of a collection of modules designed to develop or enhance the skills and knowledge of those working with youth in secure settings. Modules in the series are designed to support individual professionals and the cultures in which they operate to embrace best practices in the field of juvenile justice. Engaging Youth in Learning is designed to help teachers enhance student engagement in the emotional, cognitive and behavioral realms. Teachers will learn how to collect and analyze data regarding student engagement and how to use that data to create a student centered, positive focused classroom climate.

Authors Munna Rubai, Von Washington, Bridget Koehler, Carol Cramer Brooks

Learning Objectives In this session you will learn how to:

• Define student engagement • Create a student centered, positive focused classroom climate • Enhance student engagement in the emotional, cognitive and behavioral realms • Collect and analyze data regarding student engagement • Use data to implement classroom/school improvement


3

Target Audience Classroom teachers and other educators in the juvenile justice field

Number of Participants: Minimum 12 Maximum 25 Level of training:

Any Total Course Time: Four (4) hours, including one 15-minute break Recommended Reading Prior to taking this course:

Desktop Guide to Quality for Working with Youth in Confinement, Chapter 13, Education, http://www.desktopguide.info/?q=node/19. Recommended Training Pre-requisite Courses

National Curriculum for Educators of Youth in Confinement - See more at: http://npjs.org/resources/#sthash.7bW7jAlD.dpuf or a similar training course covering the education of youth at risk or in confinement. Instructional Methods/Techniques: Lecture, small group discussions, large group discussions, small group activities, case studies, examples Class Preparation:

Large classroom with round tables for groups of 6 participants Required materials 1. Printed Facilitator Guide 2. Participant Guide for each participant 3. PowerPoint slides 4. Laptop computer with DVD player (if no Internet available) 5. LCD projector 6. Supplies required for training activities 7. Flip chart Pad (Post-it type is recommended) 8. Easel 9. Markers (flip chart and dry erase) 10. Blank 8.5 by 11 paper - one sheet per participant 11. NPJS Speaks video – Dr. Von Washington

Segment #1: “Imagine” Segment #2: “PBIS and All It Takes to Get There” Segment #3: “Increasing Engagement”


4

Other: This is an interactive training session with frequent group discussion, small group activities and individual written assignments. The facilitator guide will provide anticipated responses and instructions for structured activities. In order to complete all the input, practice and processing of information, it will be necessary to stick to the timeline provided. Discussion is welcomed but should be guided by the facilitator as needed to accomplish this. BEFORE the learning event Agency/program administrators should:

• Read Chapter 13, “Education” by Randy Farmer and Carol Cramer Brooks in The Desktop to Quality Practice for Working with Youth in Confinement available at www.desktopguide.info.

• Attend the beginning of each learning event to tell staff why this topic is important to your program and how they will be expected to use the concepts and skills they are learning in their work. [OPTION: Create a 3- to 5-minute video to be shown to staff at the beginning of each session.]

Facilitator should:

• Read Chapter 13, “Education” by Randy Farmer and Carol Cramer Brooks in The Desktop to Quality Practice for Working with Youth in Confinement available at www.desktopguide.info.

• Read the entire Facilitation Guide, prepare necessary materials and rehearse presentations and activities.

• Review NPJSpeaks Von Washington Video Segments Segment #1: “Imagine” Segment #2: “PBIS and All It Takes to Get There” Segment #3: “Increasing Engagement”

• Coordinate with the agency or program administrator to attend the beginning of each learning event, share the importance of this topic to the program and how staff will be expected to use the concepts and skills they are learning in their work. [OPTION: Work with the administrator to create a 3- to 5-minute video to be shown to staff at the beginning of each session.]

• Arrange for a room large enough to hold the expected number of participants at tables of 4-6 people each, with room to move around between the tables and chairs. You will also need a table for materials and a table for the cut-down tool/sheet practice space.

• Model in your facilitation style the kind of empowering strategies youth workers could be using with youth. That is, encourage participants to ask questions and share opinions, even when they are not supportive of the content of this program. Encourage higher-level thinking and evaluation of their own attitudes and beliefs. Recognize risk-taking in trying out new ideas and behaviors. Support their learning efforts.


5

At the BEGINNING of the learning event Facilitator should:

• Make sure the room is arranged in table groups of 4-6 people and that no seats have their backs to the front of the room so everyone will easily be able to see you and the visuals.

• Arrange for a table for materials, if needed. • Greet each participant as they arrive and welcome him/her to the workshop • Pass around a sign-in sheet for names and emails for follow up.

AFTER the learning event Facilitator should:

• Review the feedback forms for any patterns.


6

Resource List The following were used as sources of information for this training: Beers, B. (2006). Learning-driven Schools: A Practical Guide for Teachers and

Principals. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Echevarria, Vogt, Short (2008). SIOP Lesson Plan Templates from Making Content

Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model. Pages 230 - 235. Retrieved July14, 2014 from www.nsbsd.org/cms and www.k12northstar.org/doc/8794.

Fredricks, J., McColskey, W., Meli, J., Montrosse, B., Mordica, J., Mooney, K. (2011).

Measuring Student Engagement in Upper Elementary through High School: A Description of 21 Instruments. Washington, DC: Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluations and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory South East, retrieved October 23, 2011 from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

Furrer, C., Kinderman, T., Skinner, E. (2008). A Motivational Perspective on

Engagement and Disaffection: Conceptualization and Assessment of Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Participation in Academic Activities in the Classroom. Educational and psychological measurement, June 2009; volume 69, 3: pages 493 – 525., First published on November 14, 2008.

Hattie, John (2008). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating

to Achievement. New York: Routledge Jennings, G. (2003). An Exploration of Meaningful Participation and Caring

Relationships as Contexts for School Engagement. The California School Psychologist, volume 8, pages 43 – 52, 2003.

Kalamazoo Central High School staff (2013). PRO: Creating a Positive Environment.

Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Central high school. Obtained from Von Washington, Kalamazoo Promise.

Koehler, Bridget (2012). Using feedback to increase cognitive, emotional, and

behavioral engagement in neglected and detained youth. Lincoln, Nebraska: Doane College.

Marzano, R., (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework

for Effective Instruction. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.


7

“No Disposable Kids” published in Elements of the Continuum (March/April, 2003). Lansing, MI: Michigan Federation for children and families.

Pollock, J. (2007). Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time. Alexandria, VA:

Association for supervision and curriculum development. PBIS. Retrieved July 9, 2014 from

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/PBIS/Pages/default.aspx. Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports – OSEP. Retrieved July 9, 2014 from

http://www.pbis.org/community/juvenile-justice. SIOP: Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. Retrieved July 14, 2014 from

http://www.cal.org/siop/about/index.html. SIOP: Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. Retrieved July 14, 2014 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheltered_Instruction_Observation_Protocol Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton,J., Kleiner, A. (2000).

Schools that Learn a Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education. New York : Doubleday.

Stronge, J. (2002). Qualities of Effective Teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development. Template: UbD Lesson Plan from Open Content Curriculum. Retrieved July 14, 2014

from http://wiki.bssd.org/index/php/Template:UBD_Lesson_Plan. The conflict cycle from The Starr Commonwealth/No Disposable Kids. Retrieved July

11, 2014 from http://www.yorkcountyva.org/index/cfm?action=a26&id=154,2790,000.

Tobin, T. Function-Based Support at School: Summaries of Research Examples.

University of Oregon. Retrieved July 9, 2014 from http://pages.uoregon.edu/ttobin/enufhtml.htm.

Tobin, T., Martin, E. & Lewis-Palmer, T. (2005, April). Individual student systems of

positive behavior support in classrooms, schools, and districts. Paper presented at the Annual Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference and Expo, Baltimore, MD.

Understanding by Design (UbD). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding-by-Design. Wiggins, G., Wilbur, D., McTighe, J. (2003). Overview of UbD & the Design Template.

Alexandria, VA: Association for supervision and curriculum development.


8

Engaging Youth in Learning

DO: Display title slide.

I. ANTICIPATORY SET (20 min.) SAY: Welcome to this four-‐hour training on Engaging Youth in Learning. Before we get into the content, we want to introduce everyone, give you some basic housekeeping information and have you take a short pre–assessment for this training. DO: Introduce trainers and participants. Ask each person to tell his/her name, work location, job, and one thing that keeps him/her engaged on that job. DO: Review housekeeping information such as location of bathrooms, schedule of breaks, rules regarding phone calls, smoking, etc. If trainers are using a “parking lot” for questions that come up during training that the trainers may not be able to answer, introduce participants to the “parking lot” concept. DO: Distribute participant manuals and orient participants to them. Tell them that in addition to activities that we’ll work on throughout the training they have all of the information on the slides as well as reference resources that they might want to look up later. While the material might look a little different in the manual and we might end up using it in a different order than it’s presented in the participant manual, everything is there. DO: Ask participants to turn to page 2 in their participant manual and take the pre–assessment.


9

SAY: We'll ask you to take that same assessment at the end of the course so we can all get a measure of your learning. (Activity) SAY: As we get ready to start this training, I'd like you to think of a time when you were a student and felt engaged in a classroom. As you remember that time, answer the following questions to yourself: How did you feel? What made you feel that way? What were you thinking? What did you do? DO: Show visual and allow a minute or two for the participants to think.

SAY: As you think back to that time in the classroom, think about what the teacher was doing. Describe the teacher’s behavior. DO: Ask participants to record their answers on page 3 of their participant manual. Once everyone has completed that, do a “go around,” getting one answer from each participant at a time; record participants’ descriptions of the teacher’s behavior on newsprint. Continue going around the group until participants have exhausted all of their answers. SAY: We are not going to discuss your answers at this point, but we’re going to come back to them later. During this training were going to work on how to help kids in our classrooms have similar experiences.


10

SAY: We’re going to spend a couple of minutes with Von Washington, Jr., the Executive Director for Community Relations of The Kalamazoo Promise, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Kalamazoo Promise, launched in 2005, provides between 65 and 100 percent of college tuition (depending on the length of student enrollment in the school system) for any KPS graduate who attends a public college or university in Michigan. In his work with The Kalamazoo Promise, Von Washington, Jr. has a great deal of experience in engaging youth in learning. He'll give us some information about where we’re going with this training. DO: Play part 1 of Von Washington's NPJS Speaks video.

SAY: Let's look at the specific objectives for this training. DO: Display slide and read objectives.

DO: Ask each participant to turn to page 4 in their participant manual and fill out section I: their personal objective(s) for this training in light of what they know about it so far.

II. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT : definitions (15 min.)

SAY: Von Washington used words like degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion when he described engagement. How do you define engagement? What does it look like when someone is engaged? DO: Get a few answers from the group. Reveal our definition on slide and discuss.


11

DO: Display PowerPoint slide.

SAY: When we talk about engagement we can look at it in three realms: cognitive, behavioral and emotional. Let's define each of those then, as we go through the training, we will revisit each in more detail. DO: Display PowerPoint slide and lead a brief discussion on the three realms of engagement. Be sure to stress that behavior exists for a reason. If a given behavior didn't serve some purpose (either in the present or in the past) it wouldn't occur. Thus wishing a student would behave differently or assuming that they will if we just tell them to act differently isn't likely to be effective. As we go through this training we're going to look at some ways in which we can influence behavior.

SAY: If we're going to talk about engagement, we should also define its opposite. Rather than disengagement, we’re going to call it disaffection. Here's our definition.


12

DO: Display PowerPoint slide.

SAY: Disaffection may manifest as a student who behaves poorly. It may also manifest as a student who goes through the motions while exhibiting signs of disinterest, boredom, anxiety, or avoidance. Many students who feel disaffected do not want to be in the classroom, but since they cannot physically retreat they emotionally retreat. SAY: We've talked a little bit about engagement and disaffection. How can we tell if students are truly engaged? We may get plenty of clues by observing their behavior. However, we can also just ask them. One of our objectives is to collect and analyze data regarding student engagement. We're going to suggest that a good way to do this is to periodically observe and assess the class and periodically ask the students to assess their own degree of engagement. Once we've collected that data over a period of time, we can analyze it and use it to implement classroom and school improvement. We’ll talk more about assessment as we look at each of the three realms of engagement and, by the end of the training, we will put it all together into a format that you can use with your classes.

III. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: what the research shows (5 min.)

SAY: As you can see from the following slide, both feedback and the student-‐teacher relationship have a large positive correlation to student achievement. They are precisely the topic of this training.


13

DO: Display slide and discuss.

DO: Display next slide.

SAY: One way to enhance student engagement while maximizing the student-‐teacher relationship and offering regular feedback is to create a positive routine that includes both teacher-‐ identified and individual, student-‐created daily objectives (goal setting), quick formative assessments at the end of class (reaffirmation of learning) and prompt, individual feedback at the beginning of class the following day (teacher feedback). As we work through this training we will develop a format do all of these.


14

IV. GUIDED PRACTICE: the student centered classroom (20 minutes)

SAY: In our objectives, we said that we want to be able to create a student centered, positive focused classroom climate. What does that mean to you? DO: Lead a brief discussion on what a student centered classroom might look like. Stress that it is a classroom where students feel a sense of control and ownership over the work they're doing, where they feel a sense of dignity and self-‐worth. DO: Ask participants to refer back to the list of teacher behaviors that they identified earlier (when they recalled being an engaged student). Ask participants to identify which behaviors on that list reflect a student -‐entered classroom.

SAY: Do you agree that helping students maintain a sense of dignity and self-‐worth in the classroom is a good thing? Do you think we generally do a good job of this? Let's look at a typical classroom exchange and see what happens. (Activity) DO: Give each person an 8.5 x 11-‐inch piece of paper. Tell participants that you are going to read a description of a child's experience in school. Each time they think the child's dignity or sense of self-‐worth takes “a hit" they should tear a piece off their paper. Read the following story from Schools that Learn by Peter Senge :

“Anna is in the third grade. Like many eight year olds, she bubbles with energy. This morning she skipped to the bus stop and laughed with her best friend on the ride to school, but as soon as she arrived things went wrong. First, the math homework she had completed the night before wasn't in her book bag. When she told her teacher she couldn't find it, the teacher, with hands on hips, said, “you forgot your homework again? You are so disorganized!" Later that morning, the class attended an assembly in the auditorium. On the way back to class, two girls shoved Anna into the wall, causing her to trip and fall. “You're so disorganized,” they jeered, echoing the teacher. Two boys pointed and laughed; when the teacher told them to quiet down, they looked at Anna as if it were her fault that they were reprimanded. Back in class Anna looked down at her hands while the rest of the class went over the math homework. The girl sitting next to her said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “no wonder you're so dumb.” The teacher decided to ignore it and continue on with the lesson. At lunch Anna couldn't eat much because her stomach hurt. And so it went, through the day; on the bus ride home, she sat, silently, glumly, unaware of anything around her.”


15

SAY: How typical is this? How well do you think Anna will be able to learn if she continues to feel this loss of dignity? While we might try to repair this situation after the fact, it would be more effective to prevent it from happening in the first place. Let's review the story and see if there are ways we can change it. DO: Read the stories again, at each point where Anna’s dignity is assailed, ask participants what they might do differently. At the end of this activity, suggest that we should regularly reflect on our actions and ask ourselves whether what we're doing enhances or damages the dignity of the kids in our classrooms. DO: Ask participants to turn to page 6-‐in their participant manuals and complete the first section, jotting down at least three ways in which they will work to give kids dignity in their classroom. Once participants have done this individually, ask them to form small groups of three or four participants each and have them share ideas with each other. Ask each group identify their best one or two ideas and share with the large group. SAY: Do you agree that students are more likely to remain engaged when they feel a sense of control and ownership over the work they're doing? Discuss briefly. SAY: Let's brainstorm some ways in which we can help kids be advocates for their own education/learning. DO: Remind participants of the “rules" of brainstorming: don't censor yourself or others, everything anyone says goes up on the newsprint, people are encouraged to build on what's been said before. Conduct brainstorm, put responses on newsprint. DO: Again, ask participants to return to page 6 in their participant manual and complete the second section, jotting down at least three ways in which they will help kids be advocates for their own education/learning. Tell them that they can pick from the ideas on the brainstormed list or come up with additional ones on their own.

V. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: the emotional realm (15 minutes)

SAY: We said that we would look at each of the three realms of engagement. Let's start with the emotional realm. SAY: What are some of things that impact the emotions of kids even before they come to your class? (If participants don't come up with them, examples could include wake up, homeroom, family concerns, worry about court dates, peer relationships, etc.)


16

SAY: Let's take one of these items and see how it could impact a person's day. Think about how you woke up this morning. Was it leisurely or rushed? Was it at your own pace or someone else's? How much did you have to get done before your workday started? Did you get to eat something you like for breakfast? So how did your feelings impact your behavior today? While we can't influence the feelings that you came with as a result of how you woke up this morning, what sorts of things could the people here now do to influence your feelings? SAY: What about the kids coming to your class? What's their wake-‐up like? How might their feelings vary if they had a staff gently shaking them awake versus yelling in their ear or banging on their door? How would you like them to feel in your classroom? While we can't influence the feelings kids bring with them when they enter our classroom, what sorts of things can we do once they arrive to influence their feelings? SAY: How do we even know what kids are feeling? Sometimes we get clues from their behavior but it might be even more useful just to ask them. If you remember our earlier discussion about our objective regarding collecting and analyzing data regarding student engagement, we said that we would assess each of the three realms of engagement. We truly believe that this can help us enhance our teaching because it gives both teachers and students valuable feedback about a class. Let's look at some possible questions we could ask students about their emotional engagement. Note, these are set up on a Likert scale.

DO: Show slide and discuss. After the discussion, ask participants to turn to page 7 in their participant manual and, using this format, write at least three questions that they will ask students in order to get feedback on emotional engagement in their class. Tell participants that they can use the questions we offer on the slide or develop their own. Encourage them to ask questions about elements that they can influence (for example, it's not particularly useful for a schoolteacher to ask about activities outside of school)


17

SAY: We also suggest that you do an assessment via your own observation of the class. We’re going to wait and look at that assessment at the end of this training, though, because it will combine all three realms.

VI. GUIDED PRACTICE: the behavioral realm (20 minutes) SAY: Let's brainstorm some examples of negative behavior you have seen in class. DO: List answers on newsprint. SAY: It's pretty easy to focus on negative behavior, particularly when we are fairly clear on what behavior we would rather see. However, do we really know that kids know/understand/can do the behaviors we want? I think we assume they do, but it's not necessarily true, especially if they haven't had successful classroom experiences in the past. Let's go back and look at each of the negative behaviors you named and see if we can translate them into the behaviors we would rather see.

(Activity) (Trainer Note: if there is insufficient time, the following activity could be conducted in the large group) DO: Ask participants to form small groups of three or four people each (trainer should use a method of forming groups that pushes participants to work with a different group of people during each activity and which encourages them to move from their seats). Assign each group an equal number of items from the brainstormed newsprint and have the group translate each item into a positive behavior. (For example: if an item on the first list is “curses in class,” it may be


18

translated to “use positive, non-‐offensive language and gestures”). Give each small group sheet of newsprint and a marker. Ask them to appoint a recorder who will write their answers on newsprint and a reporter who will report their answers out to the large group. Allow approximately 10 min. for small group work and 10 min. for report outs.

VII. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: PBIS (50 minutes) SAY: Individually, we should do our best to help kids succeed in our classrooms, but we can do even better if we look at systems that can help us work together to enhance engagement, particularly in the areas of emotion and behavior. SAY: Have you heard of PBIS? If so, please tell us what you know about it. (Trainer note: if participants come from juvenile justice facilities they may think we are referring to PBS – performance-‐based standards. Assure them that this is something different). DO: Show slide and discuss.

SAY: PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, it is a concept that has been researched in education for over 15 years. The University of Oregon and the federal Department of Education to prevent the isolation of high school students started it as a joint initiative. Currently, PBIS is implemented across the United States and in many foreign countries. PBIS is not a curriculum; rather it is a process for creating school environments that are more predictable and effective for achieving academic and social goals. PBIS is an approach in which individuals are supported in adopting socially meaningful


19

behaviors, avoiding inappropriate behaviors, and learning functional skills as a replacement for problem behaviors. Emphasis is placed on seeing challenging behaviors as a possible means of communication and responding appropriately instead of with punishment or coercion. There is a focus on making humane changes in the child's life to learn better behavior, instead of using coercion or punishment to squash behavior. Positive Behavior Intervention and Support involves a commitment to continually search for new ways to minimize coercion and use positive reinforcement instead. SAY: PBIS is a data-‐based system which establishes clearly defined outcomes that relate academic and social behavior, systems that support staff efforts, practices that support student success and data utilization that guide decision making. The goals of PBIS are:

• students and staff will know and practice the behaviors expected of them • students will reduce behavior problems • staff will have accurate knowledge of student performance and behavior • staff will use student behavior data to develop and implement interventions

SAY: These are obviously admirable goals. The question is, “how do we achieve them?” Let's listen to Von Washington as he describes PBIS in the Kalamazoo, Michigan school system. DO: Play part 2 of Von Washington’s NPJS Speaks talk. SAY: What are your thoughts about what we just heard? DO: Conduct a brief discussion on how participants might implement the concepts they just heard about. SAY: If you look back at the two lists we developed just before we heard from Von Washington, you can see that we have essentially started one of the behavior matrices that he discussed. Let's play around with this a little more. DO: Display slide and review briefly. Discuss the acronym, PRO, and ask participants to identify ways in which the items in each box illustrate the PRO concepts. Point out that the acronym is an expression of the organizations values and mission.


20

SAY: Let's turn to page 9 in the participant manual and look at some of the work that was done to create these Behavior Expectations (what is/isn’t expected behavior). DO: Review the samples and discuss. (Activity) DO: Ask participants to turn to page 10 in their participant manual and work on their own version of a behavior expectation matrix. If participants brought a copy of their organization’s mission statement, suggest that they use that as a starting point for developing an appropriate acronym. Give participants 10 min. to work on their personal versions. Once they have completed the individual work, put them in small groups and allow 20 min. for sharing. (Trainer note: alternately, have participants do this entire activity in small groups – first collaboratively developing an acronym then deciding on the examples of acceptable and not acceptable behaviors). If there are multiple participants from the same work location, suggest that they work together. Tell participants that we will give them the option to share some of their work at the end of the activity but that they're not obligated to do so. SAY: Would anybody like to share some of the work you did? DO: Allow a few minutes for sharing and discussion. SAY: Just as we suggested doing assessments of kids’ emotional state before, during and at the end of the class, we suggest doing the same with behavior. Take a look at the following slide and let's talk about the advantages of asking kids to assess their own behavior.


21

DO: Show slide of behavioral assessment and discuss. Following discussion, ask participants to turn to page 11 of their participant manual and write two or three additional questions that they can ask students in order to get feedback on behavioral engagement in their class. As with the earlier activity, participants can use questions from the slide or come up with their own. Offer participants the opportunity to share if they like. BREAK (15 min.)

VIII. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: classroom management (20 min.) SAY: So we talked about two of the three elements – emotions and behaviors – that contribute to engagement. Let's look at how they affect classroom management since that's always a big concern in our business. In fact, if we expect ever to get to teach content, we first have to establish a stable classroom culture/climate. PBIS can set us up for success but it's not a cure-‐all, there are still times when we will have to deal with conflict. DO: Ask participants to think of a time when they have either been in or observed a power struggle with the youth. Get two or three examples from the group. Ask the entire group if they can see similarities between these examples.


22

DO: Reveal slide and discuss the conflict cycle.

SAY: Does this cycle describe the examples we just heard? Can you see how we might inadvertently create power struggles and reinforce a child's troublesome behavior? When someone(in this case a young person) experiences a stressful situation and the associated difficult feelings (often triggered by negative self-‐talk), it's those feelings rather than rational choice that drive the youth's subsequent behavior. Where we run into trouble is when the adult mirrors the child's emotions/behavior and finds him/herself getting angry or frustrated, yelling back, threatening, etc. This can escalate the conflict into a self-‐defeating power struggle, which, unfortunately, reinforces the youth's negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors. SAY: So how do we escape the cycle? It's crucial that the adult has a degree of self-‐awareness that allows him/her to regulate his/her own emotions and disconnect from the power struggle. One way to do that is to ask oneself what the youth really wants or needs in this situation(hint: it's rarely an argument or fight, it's more likely related to a sense of dignity or autonomy/control – think back to the discussions we had earlier). SAY: One technique the adult could employ is the use of “I” statements rather than “you” statements (for example, “I wish you wouldn't curse” rather than “don't you dare use that sort of language with me!”). It seems like a minor point but the use of “I” statements is generally perceived as being less threatening and is more likely to offer the possibility of an open and honest exchange between people. SAY: an awareness of the conflict cycle and an ability to step out of it combined with the structure of rituals and routines provided by a system like PBIS go a long way towards helping us with classroom management.


23

DO: Ask participants to think about one particular youth with whom they have experienced this conflict cycle. If a participant says they have not experienced it, ask them to think of an example that they have observed, perhaps with a coworker and a youth. Ask participants to return to page 12 in their participant manual and list three things they will do differently in the future in order to disengage from this conflict cycle. Offer participants the opportunity to share if they like. SAY: In this field, one of the other elements that impact our ability to manage our classrooms is the security structure under which we have to work. What are some of the ways that security concerns and procedures impact the management of your classroom? DO: Lead a discussion on the benefits and disadvantages associated with security procedures. (The content of this discussion will vary depending on the programs in which participants work). SAY: Another element related to classroom management is the way in which teachers can partner with other adults in the classroom whether they are security staff, aides, or other teachers. DO: Lead a discussion on the ways in which teachers can work with other adults who may be present in the classroom. (As with the discussion above, this discussion will vary depending on the programs in which participants work). SAY: To sum up the section let's watch the last part of Von Washington's NPJS Speaks talk. DO: Play part 3 of Von Washington's NPJS Speaks talk. SAY: This segment ends with a question about your next steps. The next step really is to operationalize all that we've been talking about in the lesson plans that you use to teach your classes.

IX. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: lesson plans (35 min.) SAY: We've talked about the emotional and behavioral realms of engagement; let's turn our attention to the cognitive realm. I suspect that when you learned to be a teacher you learned about lesson plans. I also suspect that the type of class you have now might not be amenable to the traditional lesson plan format. Let's spend a few minutes discussing the ways in which your classes are similar to and different from the “traditional” classroom.


24

(Activity) DO: On opposite sides of the room, hang two sheets of newsprint one labeled “similar” the other labeled “different.” Place three or four markers near each newsprint. Ask participants to go to each sheet of newsprint and write down ways in which their classrooms are similar to and different from traditional classroom. For example, the “similar” list may have items like same size rooms, same type of equipment available, similar desks and chairs, same age range of students, etc.; the “different” list may have items like mixed grade levels, short length of stay, students of only one gender in a given class, less access to technology, etc. Once the lists are completed move them next to each other and discuss. SAY: So what are the implications of these similarities and differences in terms of creating lesson plans? Is it even worth it to create a lesson plan when you may not even know which students will be in your class on a given day? (Trainer note: if participants in this training are not formally educated teachers, you may need to spend some time discussing lesson plans and their utility. Then, as you work through the following section, try to pair teachers with non-‐teachers and ask non– teachers to think about ways these concepts can be useful to them). SAY: As part of your preparatory work for this training, we ask you to bring a lesson plan that you might use in your classroom. Let's take a look at those now. SAY: With regard to the structure (not content) of your lesson plan, what format do you use? What are some of the key elements present? If you're not a formally trained teacher, think about how you plan the work you're going to do with students. What elements do you include? DO: As participants offer ideas, list on newsprint. If participants don't offer them, add the concepts of “clear objectives," “essential questions," “assessment," “best practices in instructional technique.” SAY: Let's discuss some of these items. DO: Lead a discussion on as many items as possible (given time), making sure to include the four items listed above. During the discussion refer back to participants’ list of similarities and differences between their classes and traditional classrooms. Include the following points on the four elements we consider essential: SAY: Clear objectives: objectives can center on understanding (for example, what are the “big ideas" related to the topic), knowledge or skills/abilities. If you've already taken the NP JS training in Addressing the Mixed-‐Ability Classroom in Confinement Settings you may remember learning about KUD, which stands for “know, understand, do.” That's essentially what we’re talking about here.


25

DO: Ask how many participants share each lesson’s specific objectives with students. Suggest that it's a good idea to do so and to check for students understanding of the objective and it’s import. SAY: Essential questions: what provocative questions will foster inquiry, understanding and transfer of learning? These essential questions are basically “hooks” designed to engage students’ curiosity and interest in learning. After all, don't we all want to know “what's in it for me?” SAY: Assessment: Throughout this training, we have mentioned assessment regarding the three realms of engagement. In addition to those assessments, a lesson plan should include assessment of student learning related to each specific objective. Teachers should use both formative and summative assessments. SAY: Formative assessments provide information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening. What makes an assessment “formative” is not the design of a test, technique, or self-‐evaluation, per se, but the way it is used—i.e., to inform in-‐process teaching and learning modifications. SAY: Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning progress and achievement at the conclusion of a specific instructional period—usually at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year. SAY: In other words, formative assessments are for learning, while summative assessments are of learning. Or as assessment expert Paul Black put it, “When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment; when the customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment.” SAY: Best practices in instructional technique: Instructional best practices are general principles, guidelines, and suggestions for good and effective teaching that are supported by research. While these may vary, they typically involve elements such as quality student – teacher interaction, recognition of different learning styles, collaboration among students, application of lessons in real-‐world situations, prompt feedback, clear objectives, material made relevant to the student, etc. DO: Survey participants’ thoughts about best practices and share some of ours particularly around concepts like use of technology, secure manipulatives and group work. SAY: Two of the better lesson plan formats in use today are Understanding by Design (UbD) and Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). Does anybody here use either of these formats? If so, will you share your experience with the group?


26

DO: Reveal slide and discuss the two formats. Tell participants that they can get additional, more detailed information from the referenced websites. If participants don't provide sufficient information, share some of the following: SAY: UbD stands for Understanding by Design. The concepts were developed by educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and were delineated in the book, Understanding by Design. The following information comes from Grant Wiggins’ website. “In this approach, curricula or lesson plans are developed in three stages. Stage I starts with educators identifying the desired results: what are the “big ideas" and essential questions that students should be able to answer. These should relate to specific content standards (for example common core or other state standard). Stage II focuses on assessment of learning (formative assessments prior to during and at the end of lessons as well as summative assessments). Stage III identifies specific learning activities that will lead students to the desired results.”

SAY: “Key concepts in this format include the following:

− A primary goal of education should be the development and deepening of student understanding.

− Students reveal their understanding most effectively when they are provided with complex, authentic opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-‐assess. When applied to complex tasks, these "six facets" provide a conceptual lens through which teachers can better assess student understanding.

− Effective curriculum development reflects a three-‐stage design process called "backward design" that delays the planning of classroom activities until goals have been clarified and assessments designed. This process helps to avoid the twin problems of "textbook coverage" and "activity-‐oriented" teaching, in which no clear priorities and purposes are apparent.


27

− Student and school performance gains are achieved through regular reviews of results (achievement data and student work) followed by targeted adjustments to curriculum and instruction. Teachers become most effective when they seek feedback from students and their peers and use that feedback to adjust approaches to design and teaching.

− Teachers, schools, and districts benefit by "working smarter" through the collaborative design, sharing, and peer review of units of study.”

SAY: SIOP stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. It is a research-‐based and validated instructional model, which, while particularly effective in addressing the academic needs of English language learners, can also benefit students with other unique needs. The SIOP model consists of eight interrelated components: lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice/application, lesson delivery, review and assessment. SAY: Some of the strategies associated with this model include

− increasing wait time in order to give students time to think and process information. Students may know an answer but need more processing time in order to respond.

− Respond to students message, don't correct errors. If the student has a correct answer but delivers it with incorrect grammar validate his/her answer and repeat it in Standard English.

− Demonstrate, use visuals and manipulatives. Use a variety of gestures, pictures and objects to illustrate each concept being taught.

− Make lessons sensory activities. Give students the opportunity to hear, touch, taste and smell.

− Pair or group students in ways that are helpful to all. Give students tasks to complete that require interaction but arrange it so that each student has tasks appropriate to his/her development.

− Build on student’s prior knowledge. SAY: Let's spend some time looking at the lesson plans you brought and comparing them to the group's list of key elements as well as the general concepts from the SIOP and UbD formats. (Activity) Trainer note: In both of the following options, give participants permission to play around with these concepts. They should feel free to do the activity as we suggest or, if they prefer, they can work on creating a new lesson plan using one of the formats we examined or they can play with the materials in any other way they like. Do not, however, give them permission to just sit around and discuss the material. They should be actively engaged with it.


28

(Option 1, for formally trained teachers) DO: Ask participants to turn to pages 14 -‐ 18 in their participant manual. For this activity, they can use the information on pages 14 -‐ 17 as a reference and record their answers on page 18. First, working individually, they should identify elements in their lesson plans that either directly or indirectly enhance student engagement (related to the concepts we just discussed). Then ask them to identify elements from either the brainstormed list, the SIOP format or the UbD format that they could use to modify their lesson plans in order to further enhance engagement. Once they have done this individually, ask them to form small groups of three or four people and share their thoughts. Allow approximately 15 to 20 min. for this activity. At the conclusion of the activity, ask for comments from a few volunteers. (Option 2, for non-‐formally trained teachers) DO: Ask participants to turn to pages 14 -‐ 18 in their participant manual. Using the information on pages 14 -‐ 17 as a reference and recording their answers on page 18, participants should individually look through each bullet point and identify ways they could accomplish that goal as they teach kids. Once they have done this individually, ask them to form small groups of three or four people and share their thoughts. Allow approximately 15 to 20 min. for this activity. At the conclusion of the activity, ask for comments from a few volunteers. SAY: Just as we suggest looking for feedback on kids’ emotional and behavioral engagement, we think teachers should ask kids for feedback on their cognitive engagement as well. Let's look at the following slide to see what this might look like.

DO: Show slide of cognitive assessment and discuss. Following discussion, ask participants to turn to page 19 in their participant manual and write three questions that they will ask students in order to get feedback on cognitive engagement in their class. As with the previous realms, they can use questions from our slide or develop their own. Offer participant the opportunity to share they like.


29

X. INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT: putting it all together (15 min.) SAY: We've looked at many elements of engagement throughout this training. Now we’d like to spend a few minutes pulling those threads together. Do you remember this slide? DO: Display slide.

SAY: You may recall that we said that research shows that an effective way to enhance student engagement is to create a positive routine that includes both teacher-‐identified and individual, student-‐created daily objectives (goal setting), quick formative assessments at the end of class (reaffirmation of learning) and prompt, individual feedback at the beginning of class the following day (teacher feedback). SAY: We had some discussions about lesson plans and looked at the samples that you brought. We spent a little bit of time discussing objectives and ways that we might make them even more effective. We asked whether you share your lesson objectives with students and suggested that doing so is a positive practice. We didn't yet discuss the student – created daily objective. One effective way to do this might be to ask the student to first write down the class objective then to write down a personal goal. At different times, students might pick personal objectives related to behavior (for example, I will stay awake during class), emotion (for example, I will ask for help if I get frustrated with the work) or cognition (for example, I want to learn about how an engine works). All are acceptable. What do you think might be some advantages of using this technique?


30

DO: Refer participants to pages 20 and 21 in their participant manual and review. SAY: If you look at page 20, you'll see that there are four samples of a quick student assessment. Each one has a question related to behavior, emotion and cognition and to the student’s individual goal. You could use these at the end of class, rotating among them, or create your own using the questions you developed during this training. SAY: If you look at page 21, you'll see a sample of the teacher’s assessment of class engagement. We suggest that you do a quick assessment periodically, maybe every 10 minutes, during class. It should literally take only a second or two to reflect and jot down a score. Again, you could use this form or develop one of your own. SAY: At the end of class, when you look at each student’s goals and personal assessment and combines that with your own assessments, you should have enough data to give each student personalized feedback. This type of feedback can give students the sense of dignity and control that we said are key to engagement. Depending on available time, you can offer this feedback at the end of class or the following day at the beginning of class. SAY: What are your thoughts about all of this? Do you think it's valuable? Do you think it's something you can incorporate into your classroom?

XI. CLOSURE AND EVALUATION (10 min.) SAY: Let's take a look at the work you've been doing in your participant manual at various points throughout this training. You should essentially have an action plan of steps that you can take after this training. This action plan should include what you hoped to get from this training and ways to address engagement in the emotional, behavioral and cognitive realms. You should have some ideas of ways in which you can help kids retain their dignity in the classroom and be advocates for their own learning. You should also have specific questions that you can use to incorporate assessments regarding engagement into your classrooms. We firmly believe that if you do so you will get data that allows you to continuously improve your teaching.

SAY: Before we do our final wrap-‐up, would anybody like to share what you plan to do as a result of this training? DO: Reveal slide and revisit each of the objectives. Ask participants to comment on their learning regarding each objective.


31

SAY: Let's go back and look at those personal objectives/goals that you identified at the beginning of training (page 4 of the participant manual). We're going to do a “go around” and ask each person to identify his or her goal(s) and tell us whether or not it was met. DO: Conduct “go around.” Validate participant’s responses. SAY: Did you notice that we did essentially what we're suggesting you do? At the beginning of the training we gave you our objectives and asked you to identify a personal objective. Here, at the end of training, we reviewed both our objectives and yours. If we were going to meet again, we would probably start by giving you some feedback on your work today. DO: Ask participants to turn to page 22 in their participant manual and look at the suggested post-‐training activities. Before they leave the training, ask them to do the first of these activities: turn to page 24 and take the post-‐assessment. DO: Ask participants if they have any final comments. Say goodbye.

engaging youth in learning lesson plan final 2.15 -...

Documents